Standing in the Rain
by Darkwalk12
Summary: Things that may or may not have happened in Rolling Storms. Mixed genres of humor, regret, loss, and family with occasional crack. Each chapter stands alone unless otherwise stated. I obviously don't own anyone except Shay.
1. Behavior of the Beast

This takes place in the Rolling Storms Universe but much much later than were it is right now. May or may not put this in there. To tide people over for a while as I work on the next chapter.

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A bored lamborghini is a very dangerous creature. Especially when there's two of them and an unwitting prey. A short bit from the Rolling Storms Universe. Humor.

Rated: K Humor I do not own or make money off of Transformers. I only own Shay, poor woman.

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The Behavior of the Beast

(Rolling Storms excerpt)

The wild Shay is a very solitary creature. Unlike it's more sociable brethren, this being will rarely seek out others and only interacts when there is no perceived threat. It is commonly found in hard to reach places or it's den. Catching a glimpse of such an illusive creature is an exceptional sight indeed.

That said, occasionally the female could be found wandering the halls alone. At this particular time, the creature was in such a place and had been stopped by two others. Both black and white, the datsun and porsche were not intimidating to the Shay, so she stopped in her wandering. It left her as an open target in the wide hallway.

Neither of the mainly monochromatic creatures were a threat to the feral lamborghinis either. They were certainly rivals to the carnelian and golden beasts, but that only made the hunt more challenging. Hunkering down, the gold hunter watched the prey they'd been stalking for the last half- hour. Cerulean optics narrowed and limbs tensed as the other lamborghini crouched at the corner and prepared to spring.

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Having been about to go outside, the human woman heard Jazz call out to her. Pausing, Shay turned to see the commanding officers approaching. After she gave Prowl a courteous nod out of respect, they inquired about yesterday's trip. They conversed for a moment or so when the young lady suddenly frowned.

As if an inner warning had gone off, she started to turn her head. In the split second that this occurred, a crimson and black blur swooped in and snatched her from the metal floor. A bright saffron streak surged right behind them.

Resounding shouts of, "PUT ME DOWN! You idiotic...!" were cut off with whoops and laughter as they were down the hallway and around the corner before the oreo bots could move. Jazz reset his optics and chucked while Prowl vented a deep sigh. It seemed their conversation would have to wait until later.

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The sunset-colored hunters tromped merrily back to their den with their loud prize. No one could outrun or hide from the beasts. They were feral lamborghinis after all.

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The Twins got bored and wanted Shay to come play video games with them. But then they had too much fun following her and waiting to see how long it would take for her to notice. Shay is definitely giving them an earful right now XD She is one of those females who does not appreciate being swept off without warning and she prefers to move by herself, thank you.


	2. Skywarp and the Art of Hiding

-This was inspired while I was reading Norton Antivirus by EmciiSquared. I just had to wonder how far Skywarp would go to avoid something and realized; this is Skywarp we're talking about. He wouldn't blink an optic at hiding in an enemy base.

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Skywarp and the Art of Hiding

Down the main hallway, going to the right, and second door on the left, was a room that was mainly used for simulations and battle plans. A large table in the center with a hologram projector and a number of chairs made it ideal for the tactical team's use and for movie night. However, it tended to be empty and quiet during day shifts unless something big was going on. And seeing as everything had been rather uneventful these last few days, there was no one around. Which was the exact reason Shay was currently in there.

Carrying a thick comforter and some books, the woman climbed up onto one of the comfier chairs by the wall and wrapped the green striped blanket around herself until she was satisfied. Shay settled down into a relaxed position and opened her first book after finding her page and pulling out the marker. A peaceful quiet descended except for the occasional turn of a page until...

"What are you reading?"

The human immediately stilled as she recognized the voice and every muscle locked in tension. She didn't move. The first thing she thought was, '_It's going to be one of those days...'_

Finally, her blue eyes lifted up as she risked a peak and found a Cybertronian looking down on her. And while normally she had to look up to the sentient giants, she had never found herself having to lift her head all the way to the ceiling. It just had to be _him_. Shay wasn't sure why he had announced his presence or why he hadn't moved forward to grab her. Instead of getting scared she took a short breath and answered his question.

"A book about a detective in Chicago in the nineteen thirties."

"Is there fighting?" The purple seeker's expression perked up excitedly.

She paused for thought, "Yes. Gun fights, car chases, sneaking, betrayal, the mob, and fedora hats."

"Oooh! Is there a movie?!"

"No. Sorry."

There was another pause as the human contemplated their predicament and then decided to speak again, "May I ask...Why are you on the ceiling?"

As it was, Skywarp had holed himself between two stalactites way up high. Shay wasn't sure how he got into the base (seeing as they had shields to prevent him from teleporting in) or how he'd avoided Red's cameras, but as she stared at the cavernous ceiling that was far above her height, the woman had to wonder how he was managing to keep himself in place and not fall. The cybertronian jet hadn't even brought up their last encounter, which had involved him grabbing and then dropping her. Maybe he didn't realize she was the same human, or maybe he didn't care. Either way, the young woman wanted to know what he was doing in the Autobot base.

"Oh, well I'm hiding." He replied promptly as if that explained everything. Shay resisted the urge to sigh. How did Prowl manage to deal with ridiculous situations all the time?

"Hiding from...?"

"The Constructicons. They're out to get me 'cause I won't go to the medbay."

"I see." She didn't really. After a moment or so of silence and musing the serious female put forth her opinion. "The ceiling isn't a very good place to hide. For one, purple and orange are very vibrant next to each other. Anyone can look up and see you. Two, once you're spotted you are an easy target. And you can't fight when you're clinging to a stalactite."

This did nothing to soothe a twitchy seeker, "Well, were am I supposed to hide?! They won't leave me alone and I can't hide with TC because they keep checking there and they're following meeeeee!" His wings started little flickering movements as desperation leaked out of his tone.

Shay put the paper marker back in the book and thought about it for a moment, "Why don't you hide in there?" The woman pointed to a door off to the side of the large room, "It just holds some old cleaning supplies. There is no one in there."

"Ha! They won't catch me! Not the Constructicons, not the the Autobots, and not Screamer!" With that, the flyer jumped down from the ceiling with an almighty crash and rushed into the medium sized closet. The door clicked and locked behind him. Miss Carpenter wasn't sure what Starscream had to do with it, but she was pretty sure that seeker was either a few bolts short or missing a lot of recharge. Most likely both.

'_Just shake it off and go with it.'_ She told herself as she returned to her story.

Absolute silence for half an hour. At one point, it occurred to the woman that perhaps she should check on Skywarp, being as quiet as he was. But there wasn't any data files or plans in there. What could he possibly do with cleaning supplies and their collection of movies? Although, he could be stealing them... Eventually she just shrugged and continued reading. Even if he was stealing, what could she do about it? He was a huge cybertronian and one little human couldn't do much. And they were just movies after all, easily replaceable.

Then came the sound of heavy footsteps as the door at the end of the room opened and the leader of the Autobots walked in. He noted Shay's presence and continued past to get to the closet. The woman didn't look up.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you."

Optimus paused and deep blue optics looked back in confusion, "I need the cleansing solvent. There's paint all over my desk, thanks to your guardian." A deep baritone full of authority rang through the room.

She shrugged her shoulders. Shay had no say in Sideswipe's pranks nor did she usually help him. "Ratchet says panicky seekers are violent."

That stopped the Prime in his tracks. He gave her an odd look before studying the closet door and then glancing back at her again. The woman sighed. No one would let her read today it seemed. Finally she lifter her honey colored head.

"I would have sounded the alarm but he would have warped away before anyone could get him in the brig. It's been a while and there hasn't been a sound. He may not still be in there." That particular decepticon was a particularly slippery person to get ahold of.

The big blue and red Autobot sighed and rested his face plates in a servo. Shay could swear she heard him mutter something along the lines of "...purple gremlin..." An eyebrow raised as Optimus went over to the door and tried to open it anyways. After finding it locked, he punched in his Officer's code and it swept to the sides with a whoosh. A few seconds of silence and then a streak of black and amethyst crashed out, narrowly missing the Prime who just managed to step out of the way.

"I WON'T LET YOU CATCH ME!" A shriek of defiance and delighted excitement in a way only Skywarp could do bounced around the room as the jet rushed out of the entry to the hall. The Autobot leader glanced at Shay who gave him a bland look. The Decepticon alarm started to go off as Red Alert's voice came over the comm link system, shouting about an intruder. Optimus pinched the bridge of his nose struts before sighing and heading out the door to deal with the current mess. Picking up her book, the female went back to reading. If no one was dying, she wasn't getting up.


	3. Standing in the Rain

This does, without a doubt, happen in Rolling Storms. It may not be in any of the actual chapters, but it does happen.

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Standing in the Rain

It was noted that another bullet point had been added to the list of everyday behaviors that occurred in the Autobot base. The Dinobots played in the mud, Hound took as many long walks in Autumn as he could, Ratchet yelled at people for coming into the Med-bay for stupid reasons, and Jazz played music in the Rec room with Blaster every Friday night. Wheeljack's inventions actually worked very well every two weeks or so, the Aerialbots danced in the sky when it was really windy, Prowl holed himself up in his office on the days they practiced paintball as a training exercise, the minibots held movie night every other Saturday, and Shay quite often went outside when it rained.

That last one was the new addition to the Ark's habitual practices. More than once the young woman would take an umbrella, thick blanket, and a bucket out with her into the dreary world. As long as it was warm enough and there was daylight, she would fold the blanket and set it on a rock. The new umbrella Ratchet had gotten her (the medic insisted she stop trying to invite being sick) was positioned to cover the human and said cloth. A dented plastic bucket of scuffed orange plastic was placed with great care upon the muddy slick ground.

So it was just like that, one day when Sideswipe decided to invoke his curious nature and question why his friend would do this when most other humans avoided getting wet like it was the plague. Except children. They were apparently the exception to the rule and took great delight in getting soaked without regard for chilled bodies and the flu. Only a few yards from the base, he carefully picked his way around deep mud puddles as rain bounced off his armor in tiny patters. The front-liner easily found Shay sitting cross-legged upon her blanket and rock. The umbrella was tilted up just enough for light blue eyes to meet his optics while keeping the water off.

Sideswipe could be very sly when it came to speaking, but the race-car red bot could also be very very blunt. Today was one of those days were he was the latter. No need to stay out in the yucky wetness any longer than he had to.

"So...why are you collecting water when you're just going to dump it?"

A slim fingered hand came out from beneath the water shedder and carefully caught drop after drop of H2O in a rough palm, "It's the raindrops, Sideswipe. I'm collecting them."

Her hand tilted and the miniscule beads rolled off and onto the already drenched and porous ground.

"But _whhhhhyyyyy?_" Impatience, thy name is Sideswipe.

Without looking at him, she drew back her limb to it's security beneath the umbrella and watched the sky as it dripped down upon them, "Did you know that rain is recycled? It goes all over the world, sees everything and continues on it's journey. These drops in my hand have been to the ocean, possibly the Arctic, and maybe even the Tigris River. They could have been to Russia, the jungles of South America, Greenland, the Pacific Islands. Imagine all the stories we could learn from just one raindrop." Awe slipped into her normally inflection-less voice.

Sideswipe followed the woman's gaze to the stark and wet world above, and actually stopped to think about it. A single drop of water _did_ go to just about everywhere. While he didn't pay much attention to Perceptor's lectures on all the little odd things about earth, he knew what the water cycle was. It was kind of strange to think that a tiny bit of liquid traveled all over one planet. He considered just how many stories one raindrop could have. It was mind-boggling.

The red and black Autobot smiled as he tilted his horned helm to his charge. Even though humanity fell short in some ways (as did Cybertronians), you had to give them their creativity and ingenuity. Stories from raindrops, who would have thought?

A moment of companionable silence passed save for the light pelting drone of the water and an occasional creaky branch, before he spoke again. "You know what I just realized?"

"Hmmm?"

"You are really odd. Even for a human." Sideswipe gave his infamous cheeky grin as she raised an eyebrow at his statement.

"You're just now figuring this out?" A dry question that didn't seem to really need an answer.

Her friend tried to defend himself, waving a servo in the air, "Well, most of the time you and Prowl kinda act similar, so you're sorta normal. And then you go and do something weird and I have to have you explain it."

She gave a quiet snort of amusement as Mother Nature continued to drip liquid on them from above. It wasn't very windy, so the mouse-haired woman stayed relatively dry. Quiet soon the battered bucket was full to the brim and Shay unfolded her tangled legs to stand. The routine was that she would pour it out so the water could continue on it's way and find more stories to pick up. Sideswipe frowned and then a mischievous look passed over his faceplates as deep blue optical sensors lit up.

"You know what you could do?" The woman paused and tilted her head in an inquiry, "We could put some on Sunny's berth. Think of all the stories we'd be giving him!" The last statement was so full of innocence it was hard to believe he was suggesting a prank.

Shay looked at him blandly before saying thoughtfully, "Hmmm, why not?" A very rare evil grin grew.

She carefully handed him the full container of rainwater and gathered her umbrella and now damp blanket. They plodded back into the Ark, dripping water and with mud underfoot. Sideswipe gave a cheerful hum.

"You know he's going to kill us?"

"Of course."

"I think Jazz is right. You are suicidal."

She rolled her eyes, "This was your idea."

"Yeah, but I can handle a punch from him. You, in all your squishy human-ness, can't."

"Don't concern yourself. I would never have agreed if I didn't already have a couple of backup plans and boltholes ready."

Sideswipe just laughed.

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_Shay rarely pulls pranks and that's usually only when others started it first. This is one of the few times that Sideswipe managed to convince her to help. Also, while this conversation was going on in my head there was another part that involved worms and mud but I couldn't fit it in smoothly and left it out._


	4. Greetings in Pictograms

I own Shay, Darkwalk (it's me, so duh) and I use the term 'own' very loosely when it comes to PG. She usually doesn't listen when I tell her stuff, so *shrugs*.

I do not own transformers.

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Greetings in Pictograms

(a.k.a. PG was here)

It had been a very long day for Shay Carpenter. One job interview, helping volunteers in their annual planting at the local park, an emergency trip three towns over to pick up Ramhorn and Eject (They'd gotten lost), soothing irritated law enforcements, helping Prowl settle a dispute involving Sunstreaker and Gears, and then another emergency trip to town for potting soil, flowers, and food. This time it was because the Dinobots wanted to make a garden and she _really_ needed to eat by then. If Shay found out who gave Grimlock the idea for a flower bed, they'd best hide themselves.

All in all, a crazy hectic day in a long string of hectic days that were starting to become the norm. However, today needed to end so she could sleep. By now evening was approaching and the woman was contemplating an early bedtime. And maybe more food. That sounded good...

As she plodded slowly back to her room within the Ark, the woman's thoughts were cut off by the sight of an unfamiliar person tromping merrily down the hall. With paint. Shay studied the female as the teenager turned to grin at her.

Taller than Shay be a few inches, gangly limbs and a flat chest helped along the appearance that the newcomer was no older than seventeen. Rich mahogany hair corkscrewed down in a wild manner and barely reached past her shoulders while very pale skin peaked out from her clothes. And they were odd clothes indeed. Ratty gray tennis shoes and paint-splattered jeans with holes in the knees were normal enough. A cream-colored linen blouse and seventeenth century sailor's vest were not. Add on an expensive looking red and gold overcoat with Asian styled dragons embroidered on it and a patterned scarf around her waist that looked like it had come from Africa. Several strings of wood beads, keys, tiny glass bottles and other indescribable items hung from her belt and jangled with each step. There was an iron gauntlet covering her left wrist and curved metal protected her fingers. A single shining purple loop hung in her right ear while it seemed someone had taken a thin marker and scrawled a small but complex knotted symbol just below her right eye in green.

The older woman looked in her eyes and for a split second the girl's skin appeared deeply ultramarine with a dusting of stars scattered across at random points. Abyssal black hair framed that heart shaped face that held the strangest eyes ever seen. A riot of colors and worlds spun and glowed from within those windows of light that held an infinite depth, a depth eyes had no right to hold. And then Shay blinked without even noticing and it was gone.

"Hi! You're Shay right?" The somewhat normal clothed girl (without blue skin and whatnot) smiled cheerfully with warm brown eyes at the other female. Shay blinked again and wrote it off as exhaustion before replying.

"Yes I am. I'm afraid I don't know your name."

The girl struggled with the two paint cans in her arms and managed to stick out a hand to shake, "PG. Nice to meet you."

After a brief and almost awkward handshake, PG started down the hall again while Shay ran after her. Before she could ask anything else, they turned a corner and found a Cybertronian sitting on the floor and painting the hallway wall.

'Another newcomer.' thought the woman wearily,sizing up the bot.

The first thing that was immediately obvious was that the armor on this one was much more curved and slimmer than that of all the other Cybertronians she had met. The feminine face that turned to gaze curiously at her only proved that this was indeed a femme, something the others had told her about but Shay had yet to meet one. Until now that is.

Pitch black and dark gray armor with tinted glass reflected the soft light overhead while gold accents peaked out in places and especially on the wings. Huh, a flier. Although the aerial extensions didn't look anything like a seekers, Shay decided they were probably a lot longer and thinner because the bot was female. At her helm, ridges started near her forehead and went around to disappear at the end of her helmet. Dark slender finials tilted back at a ninety-five degree angle on either side and were tipped with more of the flaxen paint. But what really surprised Shay the most was the fact that the femme's optics were not blue. Instead, they were the same gold as in her color scheme.

They took a minute to look at each other, the bot's hand paused midair with a paintbrush, before the woman realized the femme was staring at her with widened optics and an awed look. The human shifted a little as the Cybertronian pursed her lips and looked away nervously. PG cut in.

"Okay! Shay meet Darkwalk, Darkwalk- Shay." The girl clapped her hands as she introduced them and then plopped down to start opening the paint cans.

On the wall was what looked to be the scrawlings of a professional graffiti artist along with messages in foreign languages and runes of various origin. The young woman frowned at the depiction of a nightmare horse with sharp teeth in a forest scene and an adorable chibi wolf puppy chasing a dragonfly under Egyptian hieroglyphs. A baby blue Godzilla was depicted stomping on a high-tech sci-fi city. She looked back at the dark flier who still held a brush with green pigment on it.

"Hello." It was the polite thing to do, even if she didn't know what was going on.

Darkwalk gave a shy wave with her free servo and soft smile as she replied quietly, "Nice to meet you Shay." The distinct harmonics of a Cybertronian marked her voice but she still sounded feminine.

Shay brushed a strand of lighter brown hair over her shoulders and glanced at PG who was now furiously sketching out the Autobot symbol with hot pink paint, "May I ask...what you are doing?"

"Painting!" Exclaimed the teenager as if the other human were being slow while the femme broke in, "We're leaving messages."

The woman watched as Darkwalk painted an open hand with curved lines next to it as if the hand were supposed to move from side to side. Next to it, a red cross was placed with care. The flier leaned over to wash out her brush in a paint can full of dirty water.

"Is that pictograms for 'Hello Medic'?" Shay stood back and put her hands in her pockets.

Darkwalk smiled excitedly at her, "Yes, yes. Although I don't know if they'll be able to read everything PG wrote."

Taking off her elaborate overcoat, the teen waved her hand dismissively, "If they look up some of these languages and download them- they can read some."

"Three of them are dead languages though, two haven't been decoded by humans yet because they're too ancient and a couple they won't be able to find on the internet at all." Grinning with mischief and cheer, PG started doodling an acid green toxic symbol in one corner and then moved to paint a stylized tiger above Darkwalk's pictograph. The graffiti actually looked rather good instead of something akin to a sixth graders, like one would expect.

The non-participant mulled over all this information before asking more questions, "The bots don't know you're here, do they? And what does PG stand for?"

"Nope! They don't know, so don't tell them!" By now PG had apparently finished her vandili- (hrmhrm)- I mean _decorating_, and was picking up all her supplies.

As they were placed helter-skelter on a green tarp, Darkwalk answered her other question, "PG stands for Portal Girl."

"That is an odd name."

Shay furrowed her brows at the scurrying teen. The Cybertronian just shrugged. Then PG scrambled to a stop in front of the older female as the femme picked up the tarp with their painting tools and subspaced it away.

"So we gotta go. Nice ta meet ya!" Giving a sloppy two-fingered salute, the human backed up so Darkwalk could lean down and be optic to eye with Shay.

"Yes, it was an honor to meet you."

Perhaps it was the way she said it or the look on her faceplates. Maybe it was how her liquid gold optics seemed to stare right through her as if she knew Shay even though they'd hardly seen each other for five minutes. Regardless of what it was, Shay was quite sure that the femme absolutely meant what she said.

And with no warning, she found herself being surrounded by warmth as the strange bot hugged her. It was nice. Unexpected, but nice. The embrace only lasted two seconds and then the femme pulled back to straighten and stand. Still surprised and a little out of her depth, the woman merely gave a quiet 'Goodbye' as they smiled at her and disappeared around the corner.

Slowly, Shay walked over and peered down the long corridor. No sign, sound, or clue. As if they'd never been there. She would have at least heard a door open if they went into a room. Unless of course they were ninja quiet like Jazz.

The thud of quick footsteps behind her signaled the approach of Red Alert, who slid into her space at a run. The security director hurriedly looked down the empty hallway and cursed before spotting their new mural. A squeak of surprise and horror escaped his vocalizer. Narrowing blue optics looked down at Shay.

She merely gave her bored reptile look, "I did not do this. It was PG and Darkwalk."

The red and white Autobot huffed a growl, "That sneaky little PG again- WAIT! Who's Darkwalk?!"

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Me: What did he mean 'again'?

PG: *hums innocently*

Me: You're supposed to tell me when you go over there! *Chases a cackling PG*

PG: Nyah nyah, never gonna catch me!


	5. On the Way

On the Way

'This gym isn't as nice as the one back in Greensboro,' She thought, studying the dimly lit underground room of the building. It was a rundown place with only a few florescent bulbs lit and hanging down from above. Pipes and bars decorating the low ceiling gave the place a claustrophobic feel. If someone had strung chains up there she wouldn't have been surprised. Gray concrete wall only made it more dingy.

Shay walked past the other people there and found a punching bag that wasn't being used. Breath in, breath out. Punch, one, two, pull back, punch. The woman had only learned the basics, just enough to defend herself, but she still liked to practice. It was a good way to get out the tension as well.

Sweat and the scent of iron filled her nose as she breathed deep and went back at it. The sounds of footsteps, heavy breathing, and grunting echoed throughout the cavernous place and her thoughts drifted just a little. Enough for the female to miss someone coming up.

"Well, you seem to have something on your mind." Blue eyes blinked in surprise as Shay whipped around and nearly punched the older woman behind her. The other one just gave a half smile and jumped out of the way.

"I apologize. I didn't hear you come up." The younger female stated immediately, lowering her fists.

Holding out a granola bar, the woman brushed imaginary dust off her sleeveless tank top and dark green shorts. The cloth was almost the same color as her eyes but not quite light enough. Shay took the food warily and studied the woman. Very light blonde going-on gray strands cropped page-boy style fell just past the other's ears and framed a friendly face that held dimples. No jewelry or make-up, but then again, one didn't wear those when going to a gym. Faint lines were just starting to appear on her face and rough hands were wrapped in fingerless gloves that were stained with sweat.

The half smile turned into a crooked grin, "You did seem pretty lost in thought. But since no one died and I didn't get knocked over, I'll accept the apology."

Her eyes twinkled and Shay got the impression that this woman was laughing at her. The older one gestured to a nearby bench and sat herself. Shay followed hesitantly and pulled off the crinkly wrapper to eat.

"So, I'm Roxann. You don't have to tell me your name if you don't want. But what brings you to this place? I know all the regulars and I've never seen you before." Roxann fired off the questions with a calm efficiency before pulling out another snack and munching on it.

Shay swallowed her food, "You can call me Shay. I'm only passing through."

"Oh? Well, I'm glad you stopped by. This old place doesn't get many people or enough love."

"It is slightly dim in here." Shay replied, "Perhaps some more lights would brighten it."

Strangely, Roxann didn't take offense to the remark against the building but gave a weary grin, "Yes, but then it would loose it's atmosphere."

"Gloomy, creepy, and slightly hostile?"

The blonde threw her head back and laughed, "Oh oh, that's good! Hee he he... It may seem that way to others, but those who come by often tend to say it seems a bit more homey."

Shay wasn't impressed, "Uh-huh."

Roxann stretched out her long legs and put her arms behind her head, "You never said, did you have something on your mind or was it just needing to beat up the punching bag?"

A frown etched itself across the younger female's face as she watched the other people about in the room. Dissonant music could almost be heard as someone turned on a radio, but it didn't quite reach a loud enough volume over the other noises. Shay tapped her fingers on the metal bench and pursed her lips before starting.

"A little of both I suppose."

Emerald eyes softened, "Has it helped?"

"Not really," Shay admitted, "I...did something stupid."

"Most people do that once or twice in their lives," Roxann put in mildly. In return, the corner of Shay's mouth turned up.

"Yeah, but it got people hurt, I think. And I'm trying to fix it. Goodness knows if I'll only make it worse," She trailed off looking into space.

"Hmmmn."

The older woman frowned and brushed short strands out of her face before giving a sigh, "Well, at least you're trying to fix it. Too many people think they're always right and don't try to make things better. The only advice I have is do your best. Sometimes, there's really nothing you can do." Glove wrapped hands came up into a curled fist that she rested her head on, shoulders hunched forward, "I'm going to be in the farthest ring for the next hour, so if you want to do some more venting and spar, I'd be glad to help."

A moment spent thinking about it and Shay nodded, standing, "Thank you."

"You're quite welcome. I always enjoy friendly people in my gym." The crooked grin flashed again.

Stunned, the blue-eyed woman jerked her head, "You're the owner?"

"Yep. Usually come talk to the new folk that drift in. Have to make sure they're not going to pick a fight or something, and you looked pretty frazzled there." They wandered past the regulars towards the back. A simple ring with steel posts and thickened wire separated it from the rest of the room.

"Do they do that often? Come in to start a conflict?"

Roxann snorted with contempt, "You have no idea how many times someone will come here just to have a good fight."

"But that's stupid." Shay wrinkled her nose, "The people here are more likely to know how to fight well. Why would you come here?" The other just shook her head. "That is not smart," Shay added with a mutter.

"People do weird things to vent." The gym owner shrugged and lifted a rope for the younger woman to climb up, "My younger sister is a messy slob, but wanna know what she does to get out her frustration? She cleans until a room or two is practically spotless. Tanya's a bit weird, but a good heart just the same."

A small grin was offered, "I'll just stick to the punching bag if it's all the same."

"How about I go easy on you?" Roxann questioned as they got into a fighting position, knees bent and thumbs held outside their fists. Shay flexed her wrists and shifted her weight before answering.

"If you think you have to. Takes my mind off things for a while."

Verdant iris's glinted under the cold light, "Whatever helps. You never know, things might turn out okay after all."

Shay gave a sad grin, and shook her head as the other lifted an arm to block the first jab, "Perhaps."

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Where the Lonely Ones Roam – Digital Daggers

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This is set during the time Shay is travelling west to meet the Twins, between chapters 19 and 20 of Rolling Storms.

Energon cookies for whoever finds the easter egg in here.


	6. Funerals and Sunny Days

A screech of tires ahead of them caused the caravan to brake or risk crashing into the silvery car in the lead. Even from Sideswipe's passenger seat, Shay could still hear the very audible 'thunk'. Funny how it stood out from all the other sounds, even though the engines and wheels were much louder. She leaped out before the red lamborghini had completely stopped, stumbling on the warm pavement and running ahead to where Bluestreak was crouching.

He's already transformed, leaning down with a loud hiccuping resonating from his engine as he desperately tried to help the wounded creature. But the sniper had no idea how to fix a bot, let alone an organic animal. The woman dashed forward and skidded around his large form to end up crouched next to the dog. Roughened blacktop scratched at the bare skin of her lower legs and drew blood, but she hardly noticed. Completely intent on the canine, she tried to speak above Bluestreak's cries as the other bots came up behind him.

"Blue! Blue, calm down okay. Just hold him gently now, come on Blue..." Repeating her mantra, the young female guided shiny blood splattered servos to hold the weakly thrashing limbs. Finally the golden retriever just lay there whining as she inspected the wound, beneath the gore and wet fur.

Only a moment or so had passed but it seemed like longer, like so much had happened way too fast. The other three bots remained silent, waiting to see what they could do. She rested a smeared and sticky hand on the dogs head and sighed. The acrid smell of gore and burning things filled her nostrils.

"Shay..." A whimper from the younger bot.

Before she could open her mouth, the rising and falling chest shuddered and heaved. Stillness settled over the large canine and dark eyes froze as they stared into the distance. Bluestreak became panicked. "Shay! Fix it! Please, we just gotta get Ratchet! We can...!"

"Blue." Jazz rested a hand on his right shoulder plate, "The dog's gone. Doc can't do nothin' 'bout it now, 'kay kid? Ahm sorry." Bitter sorrow flickered through his tone but didn't calm the young praxian.

Shortened revs and clattering bounced out of his throat as Bluestreak keened, curling in on himself with doorwings flattened as far against his frame as he could make them, "I didn't...I didn't mean to...it was right there...! I didn't want to..." On and on denial and regret flowed out as he cried.

"Ahw, Bluestreak. It wasn't your fault. Come on, there was nothing you could do." Sideswipe tried to comfort him with soft reassurances, but Sunstreaker didn't join his brother.

The yellow Autobot was watching their human march resolutely toward the nearest farmhouse. She rang the doorbell and when a man came out, spoke in hushed tones that Sunny couldn't catch from the distance and over the Datsun's cries. Glancing at them, the aged farmer nodded and led her to the shed. A moment later she came out carrying a old wool blanket and long-handled shovel. Stopping her with a hand on her arm, he seemed to ask the young woman something and she replied with a shake of her head before coming back over.

Not looking at any of them, Shay scanned the ground a few feet from the road before finding a good spot near some young maples. Settling the blanket aside, she plunked the pointed end of the tool into the dirt and started digging. 'Shink' and 'thwunck' went the shovel as she worked. Bluestreak hiccuped, looking at her.

"Shay?" A quiver in his voice.

The scooped blade hovered inches above the grass in a pause before she sighed and went back to her task, "We can not leave him there, can we? That one deserves a proper burial." Her tone remained flat, expression weary but blank as she put her back into moving the dry earth.

"We'll help." Sideswipe let go of the Praxian with gentle servos and crouched to use them on the ground, making the hole deep far faster than Shay could have with just her shovel. Obstinately she continued to dig until they had a good sized hole. After shaking out the blanket, the female handed it to Blue who carefully wrapped the dog while sniffling noisily. Every moment or so, another soft lamentation curled it's way out of his vocalizer before he cut it off.

Soon enough, Blue stood cradling the dead creature with shaking servos and looking tearfully at the others, "I... can't..."

"I gotcha Blue." A murmur from Jazz as the Porsche cautiously took the bundle and lowered it into the ground. Hot rays beat down on their heads, contrasting with Bluestreak's grief. Sunstreaker gave the sun a miffed look, thinking that it should at least be cloudy or darker out, since they were having an impromptu funeral. Mother nature didn't seem to agree with this as the few clouds kept on floating lazily above.

Easily filling the hole and placing a smooth limestone slab on top only took a few moments and then they were standing around uneasily, wondering what to do next. Silence and birdsong intertwined with hiccups. The noises from Bluestreak had quieted and slowed but a few sniffles still came up every minute or so. Shay was the first to speak, head bowed as exhausted blue eyes looked at the stone.

"Dog, I'm sorry you had to go. We all are, and most of all Blue. He didn't mean to hurt you, and I know you know that. I hope wherever you are, you have lots of room to run around and are happy." With a nod almost to herself she lifted her mouse brown hair to stare at the bots.

Bluestreak started speaking right after her, "I'm sorry!" Another wail, "I'm so sorry!"

"He or she knows Blue. Wasn't your fault." Sideswipe soothed, rubbing the Praxian's quivering doorwings.

"I'm still sorry... And...and I hope you're okay, wherever you are." The silver and gray bot continued, ending with a hiccup.

"Maybe it was just it's tahm ta go, okay kid?" Jazz added. Sunstreaker gave a barely perceivable snort at the statement until Shay's expression caught his optic. Her narrowed eyes seemed to glare right into him and after getting her irritation across, the woman jerked her head at the youngest bot. With a flash of his own optics, he shrugged and crunched the straggly field plants beneath his feet before speaking up.

"I'm sure the dog is happy now, wherever it is."

"Okay. Okay." Blue nodded and sniffled again before looking at the others. The twins led him back to the road as Shay gave the rock one more indistinguishable look and headed to the farm to return the borrowed tool. Jazz offered her a ride and the twins stayed on either side of the Datsun, keeping him calm as they drove back to base.

Sliding into soft cloth seats, the human buckled and Jazz spoke up, "That's not the first tahm you've buried somethin'."

"No." A sharp but blank look at his dashboard as her lips thinned, "But we couldn't leave the poor thing by the road. And Bluestreak needed us to do that."

"Thank yah."

"It wasn't for you." She remarked without anger. Not a criticism or retort, just fact. The quiet woman moved her head to stare out the window. Maybe she'd be able to keep an eye out for more animals this time. Although her bots were undoubtedly not going to let anything come near Bluestreak until they got back to the Ark.

"Ah know. But still, ahm glad yah did that." A nod was his only answer as they continued to drive, more watchful this time.


	7. Ice Skating in the Medbay Hall!

**Ice Skating in the Medbay Hall!**

**Christmas Night Only!**

"Hold still slaggit!" Cliffjumper yelped and clung to Trailbreaker's helm as the big black mech wobbled.

"Sorry."

The red minibot just huffed from where he stood on Breaker's shoulders, "I can't hang these if you're moving!"

Bluestreak rushed into the rec room and whistled in appreciation. Trailbreaker and Cliff were haphazardly hanging paper snowflakes to the ceiling while Beachcomber and Hound slowly wound a string of glittering lights around a massive evergreen in the corner. Wheeljack stood nearby coordinating. Coming over to watch, the gray and red bot frowned briefly. Where the lights supposed to be lit while they were stringing them? Weren't they supposed to put them up and then plug them in?

"Hello Bluestreak." A friendly female voice drew the Praxian's attention downward.

Two humans and a minibot sat on the Cybertronian sized couch cutting out the snowflakes to be hung while Christmas music caroled from the TV. "Hey Shay, Spike. Bee, those look awesome!"

"Thanks." Bumblebee smiled as his friend awed over the complex cutouts. They weren't paper, instead some sort of thin semi-flexible material that Grapple had produced for everyone to work with. Spike huffed in exasperation.

"How do you _do_ that?! I've been making these for years and mine are never that good looking."

Laughing, the yellow minibot leaned forward to show the young man a different way to fold their cutouts while Shay snickered and held up her own for Bluestreak to study. Door wings wiggled happily as he leaned over the back of the couch, "These are nice. I like the ones that look like they have fish on them."

A snort. "I'm not sure how that keeps happening. Oh hey... I like this song." The woman turned toward the TV as 'The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies' started up. She hummed along merrily until an exclamation from the bot startled her.

"Oh!" Blue jerked up a little in startlement, a serious expression on his face. "I forgot for a minute why I came in here, but the Twins want you to come to the training rooms. They said to hurry! It sounded kinda important but I don't know why..."

Getting up and sliding off the couch, Shay gestured at the mess of scissors, scraps, and piled snowflakes. "Can you take over my snowflake duty? I better go make sure they're not in trouble." Bluestreak straightened with a beaming smile and saluted. He plopped down on her vacated spot and cheerfully started to fold the stacked sheets as the woman left the noisy room at a jog. Speeding up into a run, she dashed through the halls and toward the training room all the while wondering if something was wrong. Christmas was tomorrow morning! They didn't have time for things to go wrong. All the preparations had people scurrying to be ready and the supply list for decorations alone had sent Prowl into a tizzy. It really didn't matter that they were from Cybertron. The bots liked to celebrate being together with family and had easily taken to the holiday with festive cheer.

Panting, Shay trotted into the training room to find it dark and seemingly empty. "Guys? What the hell..." She trailed off until something moving on her left had her jumping and landing on her butt.

"Ssshhhhh! It's us!" A voice whispered as two set of darker blue optics lit up to a low setting in the near pitch black. Sideswipe stepped forward and crouched until they were face to face, "Okay, we need your help."

"What?" The woman stared in surprise but kept her voice at a whisper like his, "Why in the name of Primus are you hiding in here?"

Sunstreaker crept closer and shifted to set down a rather large bag, "Because we can't let the others see us moving the presents." Her jaw dropped open as the contents of the bulging bag became apparent. Slowly, Shay questioned.

"_Whose_ idea was it to let you guys keep an optic on the gifts?"

"We lost a bet." The gold lambo grumbled, "And they know we won't damage the presents." Even the Terror Twins wouldn't risk messing with the tradition of Christmas gift giving. A few extra prank presents might make their way into the pile but nothing would be damaged or go missing. And if they did then everyone knew who to blame, which was precisely why no one wanted to take on that job.

"Okay, so we need help sneaking the presents into the rec room when no one is looking because we made a bet with Jazz that we could get them in without being seen because you know Santa is never seen," Sideswipe winked in the dark while Sunny scoffed, "But there are too many people in there right now and every time we get close to the rec room Jazz shows up to smirk at us, the annoying slagger. So can you help?"

"Um...yes. How exactly would I do this?" Shay's face scrunched up in thought.

The twins looked at each other with a grimace and shrugged. She sighed. Alright then. How to get a number of decorating bots out of the rec room for a few moments. Obviously a distraction was needed. "How much time do you need?"

"Five minutes at least. This is a lot of presents." Sunstreaker muttered, glancing at the lumpy bag that came all the way up to his hip plates. Mind moving a thousand miles a minute, Shay tapped her lips with a finger and scowled. A distraction. Not something going wrong because they couldn't mess things up so close to Christmas, but still eventful to gain attention. A niggling though bloomed inside and her eyes narrowed.

"Where's Optimus?"

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker frowned in confusion, still kneeling on the floor. Slowly, the red lambo answered with a suspicious tone, "Helping Carly string up those glass icicles on the front door. Why?"

"I have an idea. If it works then the rec room should be clear in about half an hour. If not then I don't have a clue and we'll have to try something else." With no explanation, she bolted from the room and ignored Sideswipe yelling 'Wait!' behind her. In moments, Shay found Optimus at the front entrance of the Ark. A blonde woman was pulling strands of glass ornaments from their wrappings and feeding the line up to the huge bot. Standing on the tips of his feet, the Prime pinned them up with care. Only another foot and the entire door frame would be finished.

"Optimus. I need to talk to you!" Shay gasped, hands on her knees as she tried to steady her breathing.

At that moment, the door opened to allow Hound and Mirage to enter. Carly shrieked at the sudden freezing wind and snow that blew in. The door quickly closed behind the frosted bots and Shay gasped at the chill, wrapping her arms around her thicker jacket. With cries of sorry, the mechs ran off, Carly's sharp words trailing after.

The Prime laughed before hanging the last bit and then bending down to speak with Shay, "Is something a matter?"

With a 'come here' gesture, the woman had him lean down so she could whisper in his audio. After a moment, the cargo bot straightened and gave her a look. Shay clasped her arms behind her back and let her face slide into an innocent expression. The corners of Prime's optics crinkled in merriment, "I do believe that will be just fine. Although you may have trouble moving it by yourself. And Sideswipe needs to stop teaching you the innocent face."

"He didn't teach me that, Bluestreak did." She laughed. "Sideswipe taught me how to cackle evilly." The semi chuckled before looking at the other human.

"Carly?" Optimus called at the still fuming blonde, "Do you need any more help with these or are we done?"

Giving the two a suspicious look, especially at Shay's expression that was a barely controlled smile, Carly shook her head, "No. We're good. I have to go check on the cookies though. They should be done soon."

"I can't wait to try them." Shay admitted.

"Ah huh. Go do whatever it is you're up to." The other woman smirked and went off to the kitchen. Optimus and Shay looked at each other with laughing eyes before they headed for Wheeljack's lab. This was going to be good.

* * *

"It's been thirty minutes. Whatever she did isn't working." Sideswipe moaned, peering around the corner to see that yes, there were still bots in the rec room and no, they weren't sneaking in anytime soon. And then a bellow down the hall caught everyone's attention. It was used in a battle tone, meaning: impossible to ignore.

"Ice skating in the medbay hall! Christmas night only!" Optimus yelled.

Movement and chatter stopped as everyone started to move out of the rec room. A few people muttered in disbelief as the Prime strolled over and chuckled, "You won't get thrown in the brig and Ratchet promised not to berate anyone for it. You'd better hurry. The aerialbots already started sliding around."

"Woohooo!" Several mechs ran down the corridor towards the impromptu skating rink. Within seconds there was a mad and crazy dash and the rec room was suddenly deathly silent and empty. Sunstreaker smirked at his twin's jaw hanging open.

"Close your mouth bro. She did it."

The shrank back as Optimus, the sole occupant of the now empty hall walked by and gave them a wink before heading back towards the sounds of happy shouts and crashes. For a split second the lamborghinis looked at his retreating form, each other and then the unguarded doors that led to the decorated pine. They dashed into the room with a large bag of presents.

* * *

Sitting in safety on Ratchet's shoulder pads, Shay surveyed the organized chaos in front of her.

Some time ago Wheeljack had built a blaster that was supposed to freeze a bot's internal circuits so they were paralyzed. Unfortunately it's radius was just too big and instead left five foot wide spots of ice around wherever it was shot. It had taken Optimus hardly any time at all to cover the entire section of floor with a two inch layer of ice.

The aerialbots had been the first to discover it, walking past only a moment after they were finished. By now they had been joined by several minibots jumping over fallen friends and tugging each other along in a line. Inferno yelped as he slipped and landed on his aft with a chuckle. Jazz whipped by laughing and blaring some Christmas tune, exhilaration on his face. The ice couldn't really damage them besides a few scratches which meant they could all participate without worrying. Ratchet guffawed when Ironhide bumped into Streetwise and landed on his faceplates. Blaster started to play 'Jingle Bell Rock' at the other end of the hallway, much to everyone's pleasure.

Optimus carefully slid over to where the ambulance and human stood, "It seems everyone is enjoying themselves." With a wink, Shay smiled and watched the mayhem.

Turning his helm back and forth and not finding what he was looking for, Ratchet gave a hum in thought, "I don't see the Twins. They better not be getting in trouble."

A war whoop startled them as the lambos in question surged into the crowd. Easily gliding around Smokescreen and Perceptor, Sideswipe poked at Spike on Bumblebee's shoulders in passing and skidded to a stop right in front of the medic and Shay. Sunstreaker slipped by and started to show off with some fancy spins and jumps.

"When did you learn to ice skate?" Shay laughed.

Sideswipe shrugged, "Maybe we're just good at everything?"

"You are terrible at staying out of trouble." Prowl remarked, gliding by in a slow turn. Doorwings held proud, the slippery floor didn't seem to bother him in the least. The red hellion cackled and picked up Shay with two hands.

"Lets skate!"

"Careful!" Ratchet yelled, worried as several bots crashed into each other and the wall. Rolling his optics at the dog pile, the medic slowly made his way out onto the ice. Ignoring Ratchet's warning, Sideswipe slid towards where Sunstreaker and Jazz were trying to one-up each other in showing off.

"Thank you." He whispered, "we got them all in." A few yards away, Sunstreaker glanced at them and gave a nod in her direction. The Twins must have been talking over their bond.

Shay smiled up at him, "Merry Christmas guys."

"Merry Christmas." He repeated as they skated around in the hall, laughter and joy echoing through the base as everyone had fun the night before Christmas.


	8. Snow Crystals

**Snow Crystals**

"Wet."

"Cold," the female agreed, shivering in her flannel jacket and thin snow boots.

One Autobot and one human stood just outside the Ark, staring at the snow covered landscape with looks ranging from weariness to disgust. They were obviously not winter people. Shay did not like the cold. And every year without fail, the woman ended up sequestered inside with a bout of cabin fever. Weeks of crabby, fidgety, and restless days were not fun. 'Miserable' was a better term.

Sunstreaker crossed his arms and kicked at a snowbank that was piling up to his left, "It's so slagging hard to drive through this muck." Annoyed cerulean optics glared up at the overcast sky that lent the world a drab tone. Not a bit of color marked the dark trees or gray hills.

A dusted helm popped out from behind a copse of iced over trees. Optics narrowed as the stalker spied on his unassuming prey. Once again it was up to him to remind people how to have fun. Neither Sunny nor Shay saw Sideswipe lift a large snowball from the pile he'd made.

And unfortunately for the warm-weather lovers, they had no time to prepare as he lobbed it towards them.

.

.

Many play-filled hours later, a now clean Sunstreaker walked out of the wash racks. It had taken him forever to get all the slush out of his circuits and from under his plating. Sideswipe was a slagger who like to put rocks and sharp objects in most of his snowballs. If Sunny wasn't so steamed about all the scratches he had to polish out, the bot would've been amused by his brother's sheer obnoxious tenacity. It was vexing to be related to that glitch. On the other hand, maybe they could goad the minibots into a snow battle tomorrow...

So lost in his musings, the gold and black mech almost didn't notice the quiet shuffling as Shay passed him in the hall. He did a double take and turned around to stare.

Still wearing her soaked snow boots, the short human had wrapped herself in a thick comforter and was stumbling along as well as she could without falling over. Watching her retreating back, the bot realized Shay was heading down the main hallway which lead to the security rooms or outside. And since she had her outdoor footwear on, she was most likely going back outside. With a big blanket. In the dark.

_Whhhhhhyyyyyy?!_ The mech threw his hands up in exasperation. She claimed she was one of the more sane humans yet she did things like this. Growling, Sunstreaker marched after Shay and caught the human just as she was stepping out into the frosty night air. It wasn't extremely late but the sun went down early in winter.

"What are you doing?"

Glancing up, she blinked at his scowl and gave off a small grin. "Going outside." A white puff of condensation accompanied her words.

Well, no duh. Mouth twitching at holding back a retort, Sunstreaker stomped onto the packed ice crystals and followed the woman as she trundled along. "WHY?"

"You'll see."

Affronted at the vague retort as if she's planned to lead him here all along, the frontliner flared his armor and put a little more 'oomph' into his stomps. With her face turned away, he didn't see Shay roll her gray-blue eyes at the miniature tantrum. Taking careful steps, the human followed the trails left from expeditions earlier in the day and finally found a spot she liked. Halfway up a hill, it overlooked a large expanse of flat snow that was mostly clean of foot prints. She unwrapped the blanket, lay it down on the snow and then flopped backward onto it before re-wrapping herself.

Sunstreaker stared, servos twitching. Humans were crazy. And related to small furry creatures that made too much noise and got into things. That was the only explanation he had for such strange behavior.

Waving a comforter wrapped arm, she gestured at the spot next to her. "Come on."

He sighed, having given up on finding any sense to this, and just sat down on the ground with a crunch of snow beneath him. Maybe if he humored her, he could convince the woman to go in before she got frost bite. "Alright. What are we doing and why are we not inside? I just got all the snow off me fraggit."

"Look." Shay replied patiently and pointed at their surroundings. Sunstreaker furrowed his optic ridges, not sure what he was supposed to be looking at.

With the temperature so low now that the sun was gone, the chill wind felt sharp along the lines and cables beneath his plating. Tiny frost flowers started to bloom along the golden metal. There was a calm stillness in the night that was never there in the day. No light shone from base with the front door closed but it wasn't needed due to the nearly full moon. Silver light seemed to turn the field and forest into an old-fashioned photograph, monochrome grays with the black lines of trees reaching upward. It was almost as bright as daytime. So much so, that the stars were hard to see around the moon's halo.

Still- snow, bare plants, moonlight. A hint of frustration and boredom grumbled through his words. "What am I looking at?"

"The snow. Look close, don't you see it?" She frowned and gestured at the field so he'd look again, "Your optics are better than human eyes. I figured you'd see it easier than me."

Pushing her hair out of her face, Shay glanced at him and then back at the scenery with hope. Sunstreaker didn't understand. What could possibly be interesting enough to bring the woman, who didn't even like the cold, to come outside at night? Slowly losing his patience in this whole affair, the mech gave her a dark look before glaring once more at their surroundings. Sunstreaker studied the snow. Why were they looking at all this wet scrap...

Wait.

Optics narrowed as he peered closer at the compounded flakes. It almost looked like the snow was reflecting color. The mech leaned over a little to get a better look and nearly startled in surprise. The snow was rainbow colors. Very very tiny angles of ice gave off iridescent flashes of red and emerald, saffron yellow and speckles of cobalt. Sunstreaker slowly moved his helm first in one direction, then in the others to see the colors alter and shift with every tiny movement.

A bright grin lit up Shay's face when she realized he's figured it out. "It only works with a certain type of snow under moonlight, so you can't see it very often."

"It's beautiful." Sunny muttered unconsciously. The glittering flecks reminded him of crystals, especially the opal structures in the Gardens of Praxus. Although micro instead of macro, the vibrant colors were much the same. He looked up to stare once more at the wide expanse of snow and found to his delight that everything touched by white shimmered in indigo, scarlet and green. It had been there the entire time, if one just looked close enough. "None of the others mentioned snow did this."

She shrugged and they admired the view in quiet awe, "Maybe they don't know."

Sitting in silence, the bot and the human gazed at the moonlight expanse and the snow crystals for some time. Until the cold started to get to the bundled human and water started to seep through the comforter. Mentally memorizing how things looked so he could paint it later, Sunstreaker scooped up the frigid human and slowly ambled back to base.

Perhaps, he thought as Shay twisted to look around his arms and watch the moon, Perhaps winter isn't all bad.

Keeping to the hush and calm of the night, they slipped back inside and left the glittering snow to glisten under moonlight.

.

.

* * *

Snow actaully does look like it's made out of rainbow crystals when you look at it under moonlight. It just has to be the right kind, soft but not crunchy or wet.


	9. Family Reunion

**Family Reunion**

To say he was startled was putting it mildly.

Eight shots later and with an empty clip, Darian Carpenter was clicking the trigger on the bullet-less gun and swearing as he stared wide-eyed at the large metal aliens. Sunstreaker was also swearing, curses against the tiny nicks now adorning his frame. Face going red, Shay tried to calm down her father with soothing words but a few blistering vulgarities slipped in as she was rapidly losing any patience she had for the lot of them.

The only one not swearing was Sideswipe. Oh no, that little glitch was sitting on his aft and _laughing._

"Geez Shay, what is it with your family and shooting people four times your size?" He giggled and then started to cackle at the expression on Darian's face.

"Shut up slagger," A heated hiss from the woman as she put her hands on Mr. Carpenter's arm, "Dad, Dad it's okay. Put the damn gun down."

"Shay..."

He trailed off, still staring at the Twins. Wary eyes flicked to Ironhide and Jazz in altmode. They were hanging back but drove up cautiously as the man started to calm down. "They're Autobots."

"Yes. So you're not allowed to shoot them. Put the gun away before I take it." Hands on her hips, the daughter gave Darian a stern look with one eyebrow raised.

Slowly, heartbeat falling to a calmer pace, he tucked the gun into his back pocket. The fact that he'd brought his gun wasn't really a surprise to the woman. Him shooting the bots had not however, even crossed her mind. Hazel eyes studied the metal titans with no clue as to what he was thinking. "You're friends with Autobots."

The Twins grew quiet and waited as the father and daughter conversed, tension radiating from their body language. Her mouth twitched in irritation. She took a calming breath before speaking, "Yes, I am. Deal with it and apologize to the Twins please."

"They surprised me! And nearly ran me over!" Muted anger flashed across the man's face.

"You shot them and they did not run you over. Trust me, Sunstreaker wouldn't want the blood on him." Her teeth ground together as she retorted, "If you can't have a civil conversation I'll ask Ironhide to mediate. And he settles things with his guns. So go apologize."

The glaring contest lasted several seconds before Darian rubbed the bridge of his nose, "You got your stubbornness from your mother."

"And my authority issues from you."

Sighing, but not disagreeing, the man turned to the silently watching lambos sitting on the grass. It was a good thing the park outside of town was pretty empty, otherwise someone would have been concerned about the gunshots. "Sorry for shooting you. I wasn't expecting giant robot aliens." He inclined his head stiffly.

Shay narrowed her eyes and rumbled lowly, "Mechs dad, not robots."

"Aw, that's okay! It kinda tickled." Sideswipe butted in easily with a good-natured grin, "I'm Sideswipe. Autobot, frontliner, and Best Most Awesomest Warrior in the Universe."

"Oh yeah? Says who, 'cause I saw ya runnin' from Prowl this mornin' like yer aft was on fiah." Jumping to root-mode, Ironhide tried to stare down the red mech while Shay and Sunstreaker groaned. At least this time Darian didn't flip out. The woman marched over to put herself in front of Mischief and started late introductions.

"Alright Dad, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker." She pointed to Sides and then the scowling lambo. He was not happy about the scratches. Her hand waved to the other two. "That's Ironhide. Ask him to show you his guns. You'll like them. And that is Jazz."

The Porsche transformed in a dizzying move and landed as a mech to give a graceful bow as the woman continued, "He's a tricky bastard but a good mech. Just don't play games with him."

"Hey!" A sharp protest as the Twins chuckled.

Darian nodded to each of them before turning to his daughter. The corners of his eyes crinkled and his mouth turned down in worry. "Why do I think you're not coming home this time?"

"I am not."

It was a quiet but firm answer as the giants around them shifted uneasily, feeling as if they were intruding. All except Jazz that is. The special ops mech's job was to listen in on just about everything. Taking off his ball cap, the father ran a hand through short hair before blowing out a tired sigh. "You know, I was real worried when you left. A note isn't really enough, you know? Especially when you don't answer your phone and I don't know what's going on. But you came home and I thought it'd be okay but you left again."

"And South Carolina is pretty far but you're a grown woman and I knew where you were and could come see you. And you just up and took off _again _with only a short warning and without really saying where you were going. I hoped you'd come home but you didn't and..." He trailed off, looking determinately at the ground. "I just don't want to lose my daughter."

"Dad...," struggling for words for a second, Shay knotted her fingers before grabbing his hand, "I am sorry. I could have done things better and I'm sorry for making you worry. But... you are right. I am an adult and I just needed to go. And I will always come home. Just not to stay."

Gray-blue eyes bore into his pleadingly before he pulled her into a brief hug. Pulling away, the two straightened as if the short lapse into emotions hadn't happened.

Tugging at his wrist, the young woman pulled him toward Ironhide, "We'll catch up in a few minutes. Don't turn down a chance to see really neat guns."

The man's eyes lit with a glint of curiosity as the big mech straightened proudly, happy to show off. Shay gave Jazz a look but the black and white just flashed his denta in a smile and sat back. He would be content to watch.

Sunstreaker leaned over to grumble in her ear, "You owe me a polish."

"You two are in such big trouble, I can't even describe it." she hissed, face calmly blank in case her dad looked over. Sideswipe snickered quietly as he crouched on her right.

"We didn't know he would shoot us. That was funny."

Shay tilted her head to flash pale eyes for the briefest of seconds, "You drove within three feet of him and transformed before I could warn him. You did that on purpose." An unrepentant huff blasted from the gold mech's vents while the red devil chuckled again. Shaking her head at their antics, the woman rolled her eyes.

"When we get back to base, you two are dead mechs."

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So I didn't come up with this until after I finished Rolling Storms but I did go back and add it so it's a part of the epilogue now as well.


	10. Lights in the Darkness

Lights in the Darkness

Politely tapping on the huge door, Shay spoke up, "Can you please open the door for me Omega Supreme?"

Both arms were full of datapads and as such, couldn't reach the panel needed to activate the door controls that the human had to jump to reach anyway. But the entrance opened, seemingly on by it's own accord, and allowed her in. "Thank you."

The only response was a low rumbled beneath the floor. It was a strange and new experience to be on a sentient shuttle. Perceptor had mentioned to her as they'd lifted off that the bots like Omega Supreme hadn't had alt modes before the war and something else about size shifters and t-cogs helping with the wonky mass change when he transformed. The woman had understood for about three minutes before getting lost. But it was still quite interesting.

"Are you going to spend the whole trip reading?" A mech's voice scoffed incredulously as Shay put the stack on her bed.

"Not the whole time. But two months there and two back are a long time. I need something to do or I'll get bored. Besides, these are really interesting." She looked up at Sideswipe who just shook his helm in disbelief.

Lounging in their shared quarters, the red and black mech had been playing some sort of hand held game but ignored the tinny sound effects to argue with the human, "But reading? I bet Sunny and I could keep you entertained. And there's cool stuff to explore if we stop at any planets." The game was set on the desk and forgotten.

"Well, tell me when we're doing that. Until then..." A gesture at the datapads.

Shay grabbed one and crossed to his side of the room. Technically, the bots took up most of the space with their bunk bed and desk, the woman keeping to the corner with her own bed. There wasn't a ton of room but enough to move around easily. Sideswipe was sprawled across the lower berth with a number of plush pillows to make things comfy. Forgoing her cold blankets, she climbed up to steal the big bot's warmth. While she did so, he continued to muse.

"You know, we should go exploring. Yeah, like planets and stuff! We could go meet other aliens and check out the markets of Andolin. Those were great. Been awhile since we've been there..." Trailing off, Sides grinned down at the human who was currently scrunching against his chest, "We could get a ship. I'd pilot it and you could set the course and Sunny could man the cannons in case there's asteroids. Or pirates. I could be captain." He wiggled his optic ridges at her.

"I'm sure you'd be a wonderful pilot." She muttered sarcastically.

A pout slipped across his face as he poked her arm, "You don't seem thrilled about this idea."

"I'm not against the _idea_..." She trailed off, "but..."

"Space."

Rubbing her forehead, the human sighed. "Yeah. Space."

Dim blue optics narrowed. The mech rumbled moodily before stretching and pushing the woman closer to the port window next to the berth. A squeak (that was denied later) slipped out of her mouth while blue eyes widened and then immediately turned to stare at the other side of the room. Shay had been doing a great job of not looking at the window until the frontliner had pushed her right to the edge of the bed and up to the glass. Huffing at the stubborn female, Sides tried ordering her. "Look out the window Shay."

Silence. She was not looking anywhere close to the window's vicinity. Even his puppy dog pout wouldn't get her to turn around.

Well, two could play the stubborn game. Sideswipe carefully spun her around until her face was only a few inches from the gaping black outside. A whine echoed from his engine and throughout their silent room when the female closed her eyes tightly.

"Shaaaayyyy...!" Crossed arms were the only response. With a growl, the mech spoke up louder.

"Omega Supreme, can you turn off the lights in here?" A startled gasp seemed incredibly loud as the lights clicked off and the room plunged into darkness. Literally growling now, the woman just pulled her knees up to her chest and clenches her eyes tighter. If she just kept her eyes shut, she could pretend everything around her was not pitch black.

Making enough noise to let the human know he was there, Sideswipe curled up behind her and set his head on top of Shay's so she was tucked somewhat underneath his chin. Warm armor wrapped around her middle. "Open your eyes Shay."

"It'll swallow me." A quiet croak.

"The dark?" He questioned, warm vented breaths washing over her as he hugged her tighter. "You've never had a problem with the dark before."

Shay's shoulders hunched automatically, causing the mech to run a finger over her arm in comfort, "No. Space. It is a big, dark abyss that goes on forever. Like the ocean." The ocean had almost swallowed her. She'd been helpless to do anything. It was like the universe was conspiring against her to put the human in situations where being her determined self wasn't enough to fix things.

"Oh."

Sideswipe hadn't thought of that. He'd never really thought the huge water masses looked anything like space. "It's not a complete void. You just have to look. Come on Shay, look out. I promise you won't go anywhere." The mech blew a deep breath right on her which made her hair whip around.

Slowly, the human opened first one eye and then another. The expected nausea that pooled dread into her belly eased away. Staring out the window, her lips pursed and Shay forgot to be scared. Maybe it was because Sideswipe was anchoring her right there. Maybe it was because he'd promised and logically, nothing could really happen just because she looked out the window. Maybe it was the billions and trillions of lights shining throughout the universe.

Without the light pollution from earth, and with nothing in the room to block the glow, the pinpricks of stars shone easily. Sprinkled in the velvet darkness, they twinkled. Thousands and thousands of stars. Space isn't just an unfathomable gaping black. There were others things out there. They were just in between those spaces.

"That's... not so bad," Shay admitted.

They stayed looking out the window and watched the universe go by for awhile. Eventually Shay got sleepy and scooted down to a more comfortable spot to doze while the mech went back to his game. While the woman had tried not to make such a big deal out of looking outside, Sideswipe emanated smugness the entire hour and a half until Sunstreaker came in. Making hand gestures at Shay, Sideswipe silently suggested something to his brother. With a quick smirk, the golden mech nodded in agreement and took advantage of Shay lying on her stomach unaware. He swiftly reached down to tickle the sides of her midsection.

A startled yelp quickly turned to howling laughter as the female tried to fight back and failed. "Su-, sun-, Argggh! Stop, you idio-, Sides-Help-Me!"

"Sorry. I don't get involved." Smiling with sugary sweetness, the frontliner echoed one of her more common phrases for when the Twins got into trouble and begged her to help them out. He leaned back out of reach and watched with terrible amusement as her face turned red. A strange keening noise crept out of her throat.

"Hey bro, I think humans have to breath."

Pretending to think about it, the other lambo mused, "Hmm, I think you're right. Are you breathing Shay?" He stopped tickling her and sat back as the human gasped harshly and gave them the middle finger.

"Frag you both." She huffed, curling up into a ball and wiping away the stray tears that slid down her face. Barking a laugh, the red mech leered, "You wish."

He then turned to Sunstreaker, "I had this great idea! We could get a ship and go exploring the universe. Wouldn't that be fun?" Raising an optic ridge, the gold mech remained silent for half a minute before answering.

"Prime needs us on earth. And we can't just desert the others to the Decepticons."

"We'd fight them elsewhere in the universe." Sideswipe sighed. Unfortunately, the female agreed with Sunny.

"How about this," Shay piped up, having caught her breath and recovered from the impromptu tickle torture, "When we get home we take a road trip all across the North American continent. That way we can go exploring and travel while still being close by if something big comes up. This mission right now is a sort of exploration too."

Humming, the carnelian and black bot thought it over, "Yeah, that does sound kinda fun. I haven't been to Florida yet. I wanna see an alligator."

"As long as we don't go up to Canada in winter. I do not do snow." Sunstreaker put in, apparently content with the new plan. Shay smiled slightly before giving the thoughtful red hellion a long look.

"And we can sit on the grass and look up to see the stars. From nice solid ground."

Sideswipe's cackling startled his brother who looked at them suspiciously until the giggles subsided enough for him to explain. "Hey Sunny, I win dude. I got her to look out the window first."

With a groan of aggravation, Shay flopped back down on the berth and ignored Sunny's indignant squawk, the smug laughter from Sides, and the amused rumble from below the floor. She just buried her head in one of the pillows to try and hide the huge smile growing across her face.

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Thank you DoomCabbit for the idea. You suggested fluff, so now there is sugary rot-your-teeth fluff.

All you people reading need to be thankful to DoomCabbit because I really didn't have any idea for them while on Omega Supreme and in space but DC made a suggestion and that really helped.

In response to the guest review left by Seeker3: I'm sorry but I'm not taking requests right now. I've very little time to work on my stories as is, because I'm in college and I plan on only doing one more little snippet for this before moving on to other stories and characters. Thank you for reading though.


	11. We Own the Night

This is set when Shay is visiting the Twins at the warehouse and before the link is broken. Also, last chapter. Thank you for reading and reviewing. I hope you had a fun ride.

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**We Own the Night**

They sped through the streets like eels in water; quick, smooth, and seemingly effortless.

Dark gold metal glowed beneath neon lights and intersections. Behind, the carnelian twin revved his engines and easily maneuvered around every other vehicle on the road. The Lamborghini in front flashed his tail lights, slowing down before speeding up again as if to say: _Ha! I'm carrying extra weight and I'm still faster!_ Engine growling a retort, the other pulled up right behind his smug brother and flicked on his brights.

_Laughter._

The human sitting in the driver's seat of the tawny sports car chuckled at the antics. Wind rushed through the half-inch gap of the open window to tangle strands of hair while bringing the precious scents of speed, freedom, and the coming rain. Underlying that was smoke and concrete but it could hardly be noticed when they were moving so fast. Primus knew the lamborghinis loved the feeling of wind on their frames as much as the woman did.

As they passed under flashes of nightlife, a coast around a turn heralded them through the club area. Pulsing beats echoed between brick walls but above it rose a distant peal of thunder.

_'__There/Yes/Follow.__'_

Exhilaration sang in energon lines and blood veins as the engines picked up the pace to trail after the thunderheads and growing winds. As others went inside to escape the weather, the three zipped through sparse traffic and under the tall building's glare, intent nearly buzzing around them.

Leaving behind the city, the bots hurtled towards the open road. Lightning crackled overhead while surging clouds moved to cloak the stars.

Down a flat night road going through empty land, they chased the storm.

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**Fin **3/21/16

Shay, Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe; May you have many fun adventures.


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